Genesis Lesson 16
THE GOD OF ISRAEL
Genesis chapters 32-35, 46-49
Key Verse 35:10
“God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be
called Jacob; your name will be Israel.’ So he named him Israel.”
In the previous lesson we learned how Jacob took blessings and how the Lord helped him despite his very strong character. The first part of Jacob’s life was characterized by competition with others for God’s blessings. But finally, at the Jobbok River, overwhelmed by his problems with Esau, Jacob reached his limit and met God; he was changed into a new man by wrestling with God. The latter part of his life was totally different; this was a life focused on giving God’s blessings to others. Jacob acquired all the blessings in the world by means of fierce competition with other people. Nothing should have been missing from his life, but no, he needed a new blessing that was different from all the ones he already had. In today’s passage we want to learn what the blessing was that God wanted to give to Jacob and who the God of Israel is.
The God of Peniel (32:1-33:20)
In the past, Jacob had had two adversaries. They were Laban and Esau. Now Laban had left him and only Esau remained. Jacob was returning to his home town, according to God’s directions, but there he would have to face Esau. When Jacob left his hometown he was empty handed, but now he had become very rich. He was coming home after twenty years. As he was about to enter his home town, fear of what might happen with Esau began to grip him. Jacob did not have many servants who could fight; he had to rely on God’s help. If he had to fight, he could lose all the blessings he had acquired in his life. How did the Lord protect him at this point? See 32:1,2: “Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is the camp of God!’ So he named that place Mahanaim.” God knew of Jacob’s fear and anxiety and protected him with many angels, as he had promised (28:15). God sent his angels to accompany Jacob safely back to the land of Canaan. However, Jacob did not realize this; he simply named the land “Mahanaim” and moved on.
Jacob sent his messengers before him to find out what his brother was doing. He heard that Esau was coming with four hundred men. Abraham had had three hundred eighteen trained men, but Esau had four hundred. This shows that Esau had become a powerful tribal leader. Esau had forgotten his anger against Jacob, but he did not know why Jacob was coming to him. So Esau came with four hundred men. It was shocking news to Jacob when he heard that Esau was coming with four hundred men. Great fear and distress seized Jacob, because he feared that all of a sudden he could lose all the possessions that were the result of his life’s labor over the last twenty years. Faced with this practical problem, he completely forgot that the angels of God were with him. In this urgent situation he did all he could do. He immediately divided his group into two, thinking that one group would escape if the other was attacked. Desperate, he prayed to God. He called on the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac. He reminded God of his promise: “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper.” He remembered all the kindness and faithfulness God had shown him and prayed based on God’s promise that he would make Jacob’s descendants like the sand of the sea. The point of his prayer was to save himself from the hand of his brother Esau (32:11). His prayer was not a prayer of faith but a prayer of emergency. It was nevertheless precious to God that Jacob prayed to the Lord in a time of crisis.
Even after he had prayed, Jacob could not trust God fully. So he tried to protect himself by his own devices. He knew that Esau was an emotional man, so he began to send many gifts. From his flocks he chose five hundred eighty goats, rams, camels, cows, bulls, and donkeys, and divided them into five groups. He put some distance between them so that Esau would repeatedly receive gifts. By telling Esau that they came from Jacob, he wanted to pacify his brother. He thought that his brother would grant him favor if he received gifts in advance. However his fear was not assuaged, despite his great efforts. He could not sleep at night. Then he got up and sent all his wives, maidservants, eleven sons and all of his possessions across the stream. Now Jacob was left alone. The phrase, “So Jacob was left alone” shows Jacob’s condition. It shows that Jacob had reached his limit, a point at which he could do nothing for himself. It was a painful moment, but it was also a precious moment for him, a moment for him to find who he was before God. In the same way we need to think about who we are before God, apart from all people, possessions, power, honor, authority and wealth.
Jacob was wrestling inside of himself. He was fighting against his past sins and he was suffering from them. He was suffering from the fear of death when he thought about meeting Esau. Jacob was fighting against the power of sin and death. The inner condition of Jacob, who was left alone, was terrible. Most of all he was extremely lonely. No one could understand him, and no one could solve his problem. Why was he so anxious and fearful? His problem seemed to be Esau, but his real problem was sin. He had deceived his father and brother twenty years earlier. His problem was a problem before God. Jacob had sinned against his brother, but in truth he had sinned against God (Ps 51:4; Lk 15:21). Therefore, merely reconciling with his brother would not solve his problem. Only reconciling with God would solve his problem. A man cannot solve the problem of his sins unless he meets God and receives his forgiveness. Twenty years of time had not erased the problem of Jacob’s sins. When he was ready to meet Esau, the problem of his sin came to the surface. It tormented him and was threatening to destroy his soul. The problem of his inner sin could not be solved by any human will power, effort, profound philosophy or anything else. He had reached his limit.
Then a man came to Jacob and wrestled with him for the whole night. This man was God, as we see in verse 30. This God was the Son of God, who had been incarnated. God visited Jacob in his critical time and participated in Jacob’s agony and suffering. He was agonized and suffered together with Jacob. This was the grace of God bestowed on Jacob. Jacob wrestled with God with all his might. He fought desperately in order not to lose. This showed his strong character. He had never lost any battles. He had always won. Laban had wanted to cheat Jacob but Jacob had cheated him back. Although Jacob did not know with whom he was wrestling, he did his best to win. When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he touched his hip joint. He struck it so hard that Jacob’s hip was dislocated.
Why did the Lord strike Jacob’s hip? It was to help him to rely on God alone by removing what he had depended on. A man’s hip joint supports his body and it is a symbol of the source of life and strength; to have a wrenched hip meant the destruction of what Jacob had relied on. All of his strong human characteristics, such as his talents, possessions, will, integrity, and fighting spirit were gone. His human nature, from Adam, was gone and his new self was born. The striking of Jacob’s hip shows that God can win over man at any time. It shows that God’s purpose was not to destroy Jacob but to change him. In order to remind Jacob of this precious lesson, God gave him a slight wound that made Jacob limp. In this way Jacob was left with a sign of Christ. It was a glorious scar.
After he was struck on his hip, Jacob opened his spiritual eyes and realized that this man was not human being but God. So when the man wanted to leave, Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." According to Hosea 12:4, Jacob wept and begged for favor. Why did he ask God’s favor when he had already received all the blessings? This shows that Jacob was not satisfied with all the blessings he had received so far. So far he had pursued honor, love and money. He had won all of them and he should have been happy. But they were God’s blessings but they were blessings of possession. The true blessing that God wanted to give him was different. Possessions do not solve man’s fundamental problems, such as the problems of inner sin or death or fear, anxiety or emptiness. Now Jacob’s attention shifted from possessions to being and from outward things to inward things. He was not satisfied with all the blessings he had received but sought for true blessing. He did not let God go until he had received a final confirmation that God would give him the true blessing. Just as when he had held onto Esau’s heel in his mother’s womb, he was holding onto God and struggling and begging. His prayer was a tearful request for the Lord’s mercy and grace. This means that he had a burning desire to receive the true blessing from God. We also need this kind of attitude in our prayer.
God finally realized that he would not win over Jacob and granted his request. This does not mean that God is weaker than man; it means that God honors man’s persistent prayers. In verse 27 we read: “The man asked him, "What is your name?" A name represents one’s whole identity and personality. Therefore the question is, “Who are you?” God was interested in who Jacob was; he wanted to change Jacob’s true person. Like Jacob, we are overly interested in our possessions. But God is interested in us. When Adam sinned, God was interested in Adam himself, and asked, “Where are you?” (Ge 3:9). Jesus also asked a man possessed by demon, “What is your name?” (Mk 5:9). By asking his name God was helping Jacob to find who he was before God. He was helping him to find his true identity.
Because of this question, Jacob looked back his life. “Jacob,” he answered. The word “Jacob” means, “deceiver”, ”fighting man” and “a man who takes away from others.” It is the image of a self-centered man who competes with and takes blessings from others. It is also the image of a strong human character with strong will power and sincerity. Jacob regarded all people he met as competition; he struggled with them and took all of the blessings for himself. In the course of doing this he hurt many people. Jacob realized that he was a terrible sinner before God and confessed, “Jacob.” It was like the confession of Simon Peter, who realized that he was a sinner before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8). After Jacob answered, “Jacob,” the Lord changed his name. "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome" (28). The word “Israel” means “the one who struggles with God and overcome.” It means a winner in spiritual battles. It means “God-centered” rather than “self-centered” and “a giver” rather than “a receiver.” It implies nation rather than individual. Most of all, the word “Israel” has the image of a prince of God. The change of “Jacob” to “Israel” represents the exchange of Jacob’s old self for a new self in God. It signifies the creation of a new person. As we see here, the true blessing God wanted to give to Jacob was not possessions but a new, transformed person, a new creation in God.
In verse 29a, Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." Jacob began to have a spiritual desire to know God. But God replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then and there he blessed Jacob. The meaning of the phrase, “Why do you ask my name?” means, “How can you know me?” According to Judges 13:17,18, God answered Manoah, who had asked the name of the Lord, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." Man cannot know God because God is beyond understanding. Jacob met God and profoundly experienced God’s grace. When Jacob met the Lord, the greatest problem of his life was solved. Nothing had changed in his practical life, but his inner person was transformed and he could see a new world.
According to verse 30, Jacob called that place “Peniel,” which means “face of God.” He was surprised to find out that he had seen the Lord face to face and that his life had been spared. In verse 31, we read that “The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.” This verse poetically expresses Jacob’s inner transformation. Although he was physically limping, the sun of hope and joy was rising in his heart as he passed through the dark night of agony and despair. All of the dark forces that had been working in his heart for so long, such as fear, despair, emptiness and a sense of guilt, had disappeared; grace, joy and peace filled his heart. The problem of Jacob’s sin had been solved by meeting God.
Jacob met God before he met Esau. After he had met God, his problem with Esau was not a problem any more. When Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men, he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother (33:1-3). It was the custom of the times for a man to bow down seven times as he approaches a king. When Jacob bowed down seven times to Esau, he accepted Esau as the ruler of the land. But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. In this way, their meeting was not tragic but joyful and happy. Jacob first reconciled with God and then with his brother Esau. Jacob’s joy is well expressed in verse 10. “"No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.” This was not empty flattery; the words reveal that Jacob saw the face of God in the face of Esau, which reflected a kind and loving expression for Jacob. After Jacob was transformed he could see a totally new world. Esau was not a fearful figure anymore. We want our world, our environment and our condition to be changed and improved. But if we ourselves are transformed we can see a different world and we receive power to overcome anything and change the world.
Jacob went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. His arrival in the land of Canaan (Ge 33:18) can be regarded as the fulfillment of God’s promise in Genesis 28:15 and 31:3. Once Jacob had peacefully arrived at Shechem, he bought a plot of land, where he set up an altar and called it “El Elohe Israel.” The word “El Elohe Israel” means “God, the God of Israel.” Jacob remembered the God of Bethel and he accepted God as his personal God. He confessed that God was sincere and almighty. “Elohe” means the truthful, great and almighty God. In a land of idol worship he built an altar where he worshiped the only true God.
When we see that Jacob bought a plot of land and made shelters for himself, we can assume that he wanted to settle down. He should have moved up to Bethel and built an altar there and worshipped God. Bethel was the first place where he had met God and it was the place of God’s promise. However, once Jacob had solved his practical problems, he wanted to settle down. Because of this he had to endure the suffering caused by Dinah that we read about in Chapter 34. We must not stay in Succoth; we must move up to Bethel.
God of El Bethel (34:1-35:29)
As Jacob’s children grew to be teens and adults they were influenced by their immoral environment. Usually young men want to have fellowship with other young men. Jacob’s sons could have fellowship with other men. When Jacob’s only daughter, Dinah, went to visit the women of the land Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah, daughter of Jacob; he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife." Hamor and Shechem did not have any sense of guilt for Shechem’s crime. Such behavior may not have been surprising at the time. But Jacob’s sons got angry when they heard of it. And they deceitfully took revenge. They might have thought that they were justified in punishing all of the townsmen rather than Hamor and Shechem alone. But it was wrong because they did not leave God’s judgment in the hands of God but carried it with their own hands. Furthermore, they carried it out in a cruel way. It was a crime.
Three days later, while all of them were still in pain from their circumcisions, Simeon and Levi took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else that belonged to them, in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. They might have thought that their victory was God’s confirmation of their action. They may have thought that their action was a zealous defense of their faith against idol worshipers. But it was an obvious sin.
Jacob did not take any responsibility for their actions, and then he faced even more terrible consequences. He rebuked Simeon and Levi after he found out what they had done (34:30). Jacob had tried to live peacefully among the people of Shechem, that they might follow the Lord through his example. But now Jacob and his family had become associated with deception, murder and plundering instead of with truth and love. They became a moral stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in that land, instead of becoming examples of God’s holiness, mercy and moral purity. Jacob was in trouble. Then the Lord gave him a direction.
Look at 35:1. "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." God reminded him of the God of Bethel and God’s promise and asked him to go up to Bethel. Then Jacob went to Bethel and built an altar there. In order for Jacob and his family to meet God and worship him they had to do three things. First, they had to remove foreign gods from among them. “Foreign gods” here refers to all elements of Gentile culture in their lives. There were “foreign gods” among his family members and servants, and they influenced them greatly. It is similar to the way in which many Christians in our days hold their superstition and worldly customs at the same time as they worship God. Jacob and his household needed to start anew in order to receive God’s blessings again. Since the Lord is the only true God and holy he cannot allow men to worship other gods. We must serve God alone. In order to do so, we must remove all other idols. Second, Jacob and his household needed to “purify themselves.” This means true repentance. It means to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, repenting all sins, whether they were committed consciously or unconsciously. Third, Jacob and his household needed to “change their clothes.” This means practical change in their lives; “new clothes” refers to a pure attitude. We need to take off our dark clothes and wear the Christ, the clothes of faith (Ro 13:12,13).
To get rid of foreign gods and purify oneself and change one’s clothes means to restore one’s genuine faith in God and worship God alone. Jacob and his household buried their foreign gods and dirty clothes under the oak at Shechem. Jacob expected people around him to want to attack him, but the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. Jacob remembered God, who had been faithful to him for a long time, and built an altar at Bethel and worshipped him. He called the place “El Bethel.” His life had begun in Bethel and was returning to Bethel. Jacob met God at Peniel and the greatest problem of his life was solved. But he remained in Shechem and lived a self-centered life. Then, by means of Dinah’s misfortune, the Lord helped him to return to Bethel. Jacob went to Bethel in order to get rid of his bad old habits, to renew God’s saving grace and to build an altar of thanks. In the same way we should also remember our first love and God’s grace of salvation and go to Bethel and build an altar of thanks to God.
Jacob built an altar at Bethel and called the place “El Bethel.” This means “God of Bethel.” “Bethel” changed to “El Bethel,” which means that Jacob’s faith was transformed from a self-centered one into a God-centered one. It signifies the turning point from human-centered faith to God-centered faith. Up until then, Jacob had thought that God was there for him. He had needed God for his own happiness. But now he realized that he had to live for the glory of God and that he existed for God. The foundation of his faith shifted from himself to God. Then the Lord acknowledged his faith and began to bless him anew. If we want to be recognized by God and to become men of faith, the focal point of our faith should be moved from ourselves to God.
In verses 9-12 God renewed the promises that he had made to Jacob thirty years previously. God told Jacob, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." Then he said, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." What God blessed him with can be summarized in several ways. First, it is the blessing of a change of self -- from Jacob to Israel. This is a transformation from a humanistic person to a spiritual person, from a worldly person to a person of God. Second, the blessing is to be used by God as a source of blessings, producing many spiritual fruits. It is amazing to see that many spiritual children will be born and many kings and queens will come from our bodies. Third, it means to receive the land as the foundation of the eternal kingdom of God. To our ministry this can mean that God has given us campuses in two hundred forty nations as our inheritance and eventually he will give us the eternal kingdom of God. What God really wants to give us is not possessions but a change in ourselves and the opportunity to be used by God in his redemptive work. His true blessing does not belong to the present world but to the eternal kingdom of God.
Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel. The word “Bethel” means “house of God.” Jacob’s long life of faith ended there. An offering of drink refers to one’s devotion to God, and oil signifies holy separation -- it means glorifying God. Jacob offered himself fully to God and decided to live for the glory of God. Jacob’s life started in Bethel and ended in Bethel. God became the God of Bethel.
Verses 16-20 are about the birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel. Rachel gave birth to a son for whom she had waited so fervently. But she had problems in childbirth and as a result lost her own life. In sorrow she named him “Ben-Oni” which means “son of my trouble.” Jacob thought that it would be too much for his son to carry such a name and later changed his name to “Benjamin,” which means “son of my right hand.” Reuben slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah and lost his birthright (22). Jacob returned to his father Isaac and buried his father Isaac.
God Established the Twelve Tribes of Israel (46:1-49:33)
Jacob was invited by Joseph and was going to go to Egypt. But he was not confident, because he had not inquired of the Lord. Thus, when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. Then God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said that God would make him into a great nation in Egypt and he would be with him as he had been in Canaan (46:1-4). Jacob’s descendants needed to go down to Egypt and form a great nation and they needed to be trained there for a while. The total number of Jacob’s descendants who went down to Egypt was seventy.
Jacob’s company reached Goshen and, with great fanfare, met Joseph. Then Jacob was led by Joseph to Pharaoh and stood in front of him. It was a significant meeting because it was a meeting between the most powerful man on earth and God’s chosen servant. Pharaoh was the most powerful and wealthy of all people on earth at that time, but Jacob was higher than Pharaoh because Jacob blessed him (Heb 7:7). See 47:7-10: if Jacob had been an ordinary man he could not have even spoken properly before Pharaoh. But Jacob blessed Pharaoh when he was presented to him and blessed Pharaoh before he left his presence. In the first part of Jacob’s life he would compete with others for blessings wherever he went. But his latter part of his life shows that he was a giver of God’s blessings wherever he went. He had the clear attitude of a man of God.
When Pharaoh asked him his age, Jacob testified to Pharaoh that man’s life was a pilgrimage: "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." It is important to see that Jacob saw his life as a pilgrimage. Because Jacob had wanted to live on earth forever, he had wanted to take as much as possible. But after the event at Jabbok River and the loss of Rachel and Joseph and all the other troubles he had experienced in his life, Jacob must have learned that a man’s life is pilgrimage, and that a man has to leave when his time comes. Life is a pilgrimage. A pilgrim cannot live on earth forever. People live without knowing the purpose and direction of life. They live like wandering clouds. To wander around seems romantic but in reality it is miserable. We, believers, are pilgrims who came from the Father and go back to him. We are holy pilgrims yearning for and desiring the kingdom of God. As I grow older I became very thankful because I have a mission to serve on earth, and then there is the kingdom of God waiting for me. Praise God who has given us the blessing of a pilgrim’s life.
47:27-31 describes what Jacob did when he was preparing to die. Jacob had lived in Egypt for seventeen years and had reached the age of one hundred forty seven years. When he knew that death was near he called Joseph and asked him to promise that he would not bury him in Egypt but in the promised land of Canaan. When Joseph had promised, Jacob worshipped God as he leaned on the top of his staff. He knew that only God was the object of true worship and he worshipped God. This shows Jacob’s true faith (Heb 11:21).
In 48:15,16 we read: “Then he blessed Joseph and said, ‘May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm -- may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth.’" As he prayed, Jacob was moved by God and he prayed to the Triune God. “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked” refers to God the Father. “The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day” refers to the work of the Holy Spirit, and “the Angel who has delivered me from all harm” refers to the work of the Son of God. The word “shepherd” implies that God is our shepherd and we are his sheep (Ps 100:3). The word “deliver” is a reference to the work of the Christ before he was incarnated.
In Chapter 48 Jacob blessed two sons of Joseph. Because Jacob knew of the sorrow of the second son, Ephraim, he put him ahead of Manasseh, the first son. Because of Jacob’s blessings, Ephraim and Manasseh were listed in the same line as Reuben and Simeon, and received the blessing of becoming tribal leaders. In addition, on the basis of Jacob’s blessing, Ephraim’s became the leading tribe in the northern kingdom of Israel at the time of Jeroboam (1Ki 12:25).
Jacob’s farewell speech in Chapter 49 was his blessing for his sons as well as his prophecy. With his prophetic eyes Jacob blessed and warned each of his sons. He told each of his sons about their special characters and tendencies to which they should pay careful attention. Israel was formed based on the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. At the same time, there was variety among the twelve tribes. Jacob’s blessings were expressed in poems and symbols and prophecies which were totally different from the way he usually spoke. This was because he was relying on the Holy Spirit.
Reuben had once been Jacob’s first son. But because he had defiled his father’s bed, the birthright passed to the descendants of Joseph (1 Ch 5:1). “The first sign of one’s strength” means “to testify about his father’s honor and power” (Dt 21:17). Reuben was lustful, weak and unstable. He did not stand out. This means that he did not have anything to contribute to his descendants. In the history of Israel, the tribe of Reuben never produced a leader.
Simeon and Levi had already revealed their cruelty. When their sister Dinah was violated they had killed all of men in Shechem, which had brought danger to their whole household. Their weapons were those of violence. They might have rationalized their actions as justifiable, but Jacob cursed their fierce anger. It was a cruel, immoral anger. He pronounced, “I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.” Simeon inherited land from the land of Judah. But some of Simeon’s tribe were captured and lived in the land of Edom and Amalekite (1Ch 4:39-43). During the time that the kingdom was divided, many of the Simeons left the northern kingdom and joined Judah (2Chr 15:9). The Levites could restore their position by standing on the side of the Lord in the time of Moses (Ex 32:26). Moses was a descendant of Levi and Levi had been chosen from among the Israelites to be the priestly tribe.
Judah at first had made a mistake in selling his brother Joseph. But, since he later truly repented, he was blessed. The name “Judah” means “praise.” He would become the object of his brothers’ praise. He would defeat his enemies. Just as a lion is king among animals, Judah’s whole household would bow down before him. Just as Joseph had received the double portion of the first son, so also did Judah receive the double portion as the ruler of the first born. “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet (descendants)” means “this will continue until the Messiah comes.” The tribe of Judah would be strong and brave, and their land would be fertile. The tribe of Judah became leaders; this prophecy was fulfilled at the time of King David. Before David, the leaders came from other tribes. Moses came from the Levites, Joshua from Ephraim, Gideon from Manasseh, Samson from Dan, Samuel from Ephraim, and Saul from Benjamin. After King David, the tribe of Judah was consistently the leading tribe, and so it was that after six hundred forty years Jacob’s prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus was called “The Lion of Judah” (Rev 5:5). Micah also said that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, and said, “And he will be our peace” (Mi 5:2-5). As for Zebulun, Jacob only mentioned that he would live by the seashore. Issachar was compared to a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. This means he was strong and meek and lazy. He would only love the enjoyment of his land. He would not struggle to keep it. So eventually his people would become slaves and carry burdens for his master. Of Dan Jacob said that he would provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. This was because Dan was a descendant of a concubine and he was not sure whether he would inherit the land. Jacob also said, “Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.” He called Dan “a serpent by the roadside,” which symbolically reveals that Dan would officially bring idol worship to the land of Israel (Jdg 18:30,31). Jeroboam made two golden calves and he put one in Dan’s land (2Ki 12:28-30), which was located in the north; Dan’s would be an important tribe that could defend the national boundary against foreign armies.
After Jacob mentioned the “serpent,” he said that he would wait for the Lord’s deliverance. This is because he was reminded of God’s promise in Genesis 3:15, which says, “He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Jacob longed for the appearance of the Messiah. Gad was excellent in war (2Ch 5:18; 12:8). He would be attacked but he would strike back. Asher would enjoy rich food and would provide delicacies fit for a king.
Naphtali is described as “a doe set free.” This means that his descendants would be very swift. They would be known as men of eloquent speeches and of beautiful literature. To Joseph, Jacob decreed blessings similar to those of Judah. By saying that Joseph was a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climbed over a wall, Jacob reveals that Joseph’s descendants would be numerous and strong. Joseph would be attacked by archers but his arm would be strong and his bow would remain steady because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob. From Joseph would come Israel’s Rock and Shepherd. Jacob bestowed many blessings on Joseph. He said, “because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.” Many leaders, such as Joshua, Deborah and Samuel, would come from the tribe of Ephraim, Joseph’s son. After the kingdom was divided, the southern kingdom was called Judah and northern kingdom was called Israel or Ephraim.
Judah and Joseph were at the center of Jacob’s blessings. In accordance with Jacob’s blessings, they became the leading tribes in Israel. Jacob promised material blessings to Joseph, but to Judah he promised political leadership and the blessing of being in genealogy of the Messiah as well as material blessings. Benjamin would be strong and brave and good in battle. His descendants would also be as violent as a ravenous wolf. According to Judges Chapter 20, the name of Benjamin was almost wiped out. The first king of Israel was Saul and his character was very similar to that of Benjamin in Jacob’s prophecy. Lastly, Jacob asked his sons to bury him in the cave of Machpelah. This shows that he had strong faith that God would give them the Promised Land.
By studying Jacob’s blessings for his sons, we can see his maturity as a father of many nations. God established the twelve tribes of Israel based on Jacob’s blessings. Jacob’s latter life was devoted to worshipping God while leaning on his staff (47:31b), looking for God’s salvation (49:18) and giving God’s blessings to whomever he met.
In conclusion, who is the God of Israel? He is the one who changed Jacob into Israel and blessed him. Jacob had a strong human character and it was hard for him to change. It was very challenging for him to be used by God for his redemptive work. But God raised him up as the father of the twelve tribes of Israel and the source of blessings wherever he went. In 48:15,16 Jacob called God, “The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day” and “The Angel who has delivered me from all harm.” Jacob might have thought that he lived by dint of his own sincerity and will, but when he looked back upon his life he realized that God had helped him and raised him. God had tolerated all of his weaknesses until he became a man of God. This was because of God’s unlimited love to save all mankind. God raised Jacob to be one of the three patriarchs of the faith and thereby laid a firm foundation for his redemptive work. We thank and praise God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.